Oviedo Miracle Can Happen

Roberto Martinez has hailed the relentless work ethic and unwavering positivity that have allowed Bryan Oviedo to keep his World Cup 'miracle' on track.

The Costa Rican's chances of playing in Brazil this summer looked shattered when he suffered a horrendous double leg break at Stevenage in January.

However, Oviedo is way ahead of schedule in terms of his rehabilitation and earlier this week posted a video on YouTube showing him kicking a ball with both feet while running back and forth across a mat.

Martinez has always maintained that the 24-year-old should not lose sight of his World Cup goal and asked about the player's latest social media post said: "It's quite miraculous if I'm honest with you.

"For someone who broke his leg in such a traumatic manner to be kicking a ball, to have the positive energy that he brings around the place, to be so confident - nobody deserves more than him to be fit for the World Cup.

"Obviously we're not going to get carried away. He's one of those players who you have to pull back and stop him from trying to do too much.

"But, at the moment, everything is going really well, the doctors are delighted with his progress, we're in constant contact with Costa Rica and we'll see where that takes us."

Costa Rica will name a provisional 30-man squad for this summer's tournament before the FIFA deadline on Tuesday 13 May.

But even if Oviedo's name is omitted, Martinez is confident the former FC Copenhagen star will be 100 per cent fit and ready when Everton's players reconvene for pre-season training.

"If he can make the World Cup, we will be incredibly proud to have him there representing Everton," said the Blues boss. "If not, I can see for sure he will be fully fit for the start of pre-season."